Florida

Florida Gave Pitbull Up to $1M for ‘Sexy Beaches' Video

Details of a contract between music superstar Pitbull and the state’s tourism office were released Thursday, days after the new Speaker of the Florida House filed a lawsuit asking for it.

The contract said the Miami native would be paid no more than $1 million for various benchmarks, including promoting the state in his song “Sexy Beaches” while shooting a video for the song in the state – while using the hashtag #LoveFL. The contract was between Visit Florida and PDR Productions.

Rep. Richard Corcoran, who said the lawsuit was about exposing government spending and nothing personal against the singer, said it was “unfortunate” it took a lawsuit to get the contract details released.

“This was a long unnecessary journey through claims of trade secrets, threats of prosecution, and corporate welfare paid for by taxpayers,” Corcoran wrote.  “It is my hope that the coverage this issue received will foster a larger discussion of the proper role of government in the free market and the need to end the idea that government as ‘venture capitalist’ is good for our economy.”

The company run by the artist, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, at one point opposed the release of the contract details – saying the amount he paid is a “trade secret” that doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of state laws.

Perez sent out a tweet saying he loves his home state and used the same hashtag he has been paid for. The artist will continue to broadcast his live New Years Eve show from Miami, which he has done the previous two years.

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